Stratford High School - Mnemosyne Yearbook (Houston, TX)

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52 fall drama production Shrieking in delight, Senior Doris Lind- blom views her idol, Conrad Birdie. Doris played one of the star-crazed teenage girls. She also led the costume crew. Entranced with her beauty, Senior jeff Dickerson gazes into the eyes of Senior julie Smith as she sings of her heart's desires. The two had just started going steady when julie wins a kiss from Conrad. La i t ' . i i X l E ll. X 2 l li l We love you Conrad. Oh, yes we dc sing Seniors Susan Paul, Lucy josep and jackie Russell. Throughout the ple they join with other screaming teena ers to express the hysterical atmosphe created by the presence of their her Conrad Birdie. MT f-. Q. Old, crotchety Mrs. Peterson, played by Senior Karen Hopkins, receives a help- ing hand from her son Albert, played by junior Ken Lewis. Her efforts are directed towards preventing his mar- riage to his girlfriend Rose Alfarez, played by junior Lori Rowntree. 4 A stunned Albert Peterson questio the action of his girlfriend which ru his farewell promotion for Conil Birdie on national TV. The rest of cast worries over their belted hero.

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These 45 selections which formed jone hour and 45 minute show jere then divided among the 14 lembers of the cast, and with the idition of transitions between the eces, an original snow was pro- Jced especially for Stratford on ibruary 8, 9, and 10 in the audito- gm. Clad in black satin knickers, sus- enders, and colored turtle necks, .ch of the cast members was given e opportunity to interpret the eterial given them. Mrs. Boone has produced numer- s experimenta productions at lfatford, and the newness of this pe of theatre went over with the ,idents exactly as expected. They thought it was interesting, ut weren't fond of it. lt seemed a tle strange to them. lt's odd that ch 'liberal' teenagers take such a m view of newness. junior Mike Conway, a member of e cast was especially interested in is form of theatre because, lt's so ucational, and you don't have to rry about a plot. Senior Alicia Raudsep, another ist member, performing in her first low at Stratford, said that she lnuld really express her feelings rough experimental theatre, with- Jt having to worry about an estab- .hed character. 'Harold Swerg', the longest skit in e show, running about ten min- es, was the favorite of Senior cast ember Len Henderson. Len played .e part of Swerg, a superstar athlete hose only ambition in life was to ecome a bookkeeper. i 'The Little Girl and the Wolf' as my favorite part. I was such a xpot in it! exclaimed Alicia jok- gly. A modern day version of the jittle Red Riding Hood' story with he Little Blue En ine concentrates rd as in the childgood story, except, e moral of the story, according to ior Chrise Cleveland, is that think- you can, just isn't enough. Forming train are Katie Slaugh, Alicia Raud- , Mike Conway, Kathy Brooks, Scott ily, Len Henderson, Doris Lindblom, urt Whisman, Alissa Alban, Scott ncelman, Rhett Rushing, Chrise veland, jackie Russell, and jeff Shaef- zen indposes of high society, Seniors ris Lin blom and Katie Slaugh, Soph- ore Rhett Rushing, Seniors Chrise eveland and Scott Concelman, and -eshman Court Whisman form the ckground for the cocktail party scene. the wolf as a Fonzie-type character and a sexy blonde as the little girl turned out to be an audience favor- ite. Senior Scott Concelman spent four years as a member of the Drama Department, with Scraps being his last show. lt was a pretty good one to go out on, said Scott. At least I got to do one Boone-type show before I left one stylized show. Filling out the cast were Seniors Chrise Cleveland, jackie Russell, jeff Shaeffer, Doris Lindblom, and Katie Slaughg Sophomores Alissa Alban, Kathy Brooks, Scott Baily, and Rhett Rushingg Freshman Court Whisman. Oh don't you hate this rat race, cried Senior Doris Lindblom and Freshman Court Whisman in the cocktail party scene. This pseudo-society-based skit was one of the most popular among audiences. in 5 Ubi. DLOR Considerably miffed, Senior Chrise Cleveland complains about the annoy- anceg of her little brother, The Pain. ln accordance, her little brother, played by junior Mike Conway, would talk about his sister. 'The Great One' and how fine she thought she was, said Chrise. In Unicorn in the Garden Senior Ali- cia Raudsep discusses her husband's mental condition with Policeman Soph- omore Scott Baily and psychiatrist Sen- ior Lenn Henderson. He had told her that he had seen a unicorn in his gar- den. When he denies telling such a tale, they take her away, because they think she is crazy. spring drama production 51

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M n last kiss Bye Bye Birdie A l lt's awfully hard to bear. Bye Bye Birdie Guess I'llalways care. . . . . belted out the entire cast as ie final curtain closed on the trama-Choir Fall Production of we musical, Bye Bye Birdie. Performed on November 2, 4, , and 11 in front of sell-out 'owds, the production was the rst ever at Stratford to combine we talents of both the Drama epartment, under the leader- ip of Mrs. Carolyn Boone, and we Choir Department, directed y Mrs. Virginia Derry. With Mrs. Derry supervising We teaching of music and the lrganization of the orchestra, Hrs. Shauna Baker and Mrs. anie Driscoll adding their tal- hts in the choreography depart- went, and Mrs. Boone combining I the efforts, the show revolved ound a singing teen idol in the fties and what happens in a all, midwestern town when he drafted into the army. Starring in Bye Bye Birdie were mmihg it up for a family portrait on tional TV, the MacAfree family of eet Apple make a charming picture. e daughter Kim, played by Senior lie Smith, won the family this honor. junior Mike Conway as Conrad Birdie, junior Ken Lewis as Con- rad's manager, Albert Peterson, junior Lori Roundtree as Albert's girlfriend,sRose Alvarez, and Sen- ior lulie Smith as Kim MacAfee, the President of the Conrad Birdie Fan Club of Sweet Apple, Ohio. Aside from the usual problems which arise when working with such a large cast fthe entire cast contained 25 studentsj, the only major difficulties encountered occurred when rehearsals began with the seven-piece orchestra, according to Mrs. Boone. We had a little trouble getting the orchestra and the singers together, said Mrs. Boone, but, fortunately, Mrs. Derry was able to work it all out during a few short rehearsals. Alljoin in the finale, sending their hero off to war. A seven-piece orchestra, directed by Mrs. Virginia Derry accom- panies the singers. The group included Senior julie Mann on flute, Senior Cieoff Spradley on french horn, and Sopho- more Mark Ragusa on drums. With his irresistible snarl, junior Mike Conway portrays Conrad Birdie, the All-American teenage idol. Complete with leather jacket and swiggling hips, Mike captivates audiences of all ages. Funny faces liven Ken Lewis' face as he tries to cheer up his little friend, Senior Chrise Cleveland, who is sad at the loss of her hero. He encourages her to put on a happy face. SQWKN xx., X15 fall drama production 53